The Community Project … Project.

With only 20 days left to polish up the biggest budget snowboard film ever, things seemed surprisingly under control in the editing suite tucked into the side of Travis Rice’s Jackson home. General Gizmo and Captain Gadget, the household pugs were holding down their stations wrestling from lap to lap. Travis was on his cell making reservations. Editor Curt Morgan was sampling different music just recorded by his new band, Atlas.

Lora: How did it go this winter?

TR: It went really good. The whole concept was to have an open-minded game plan. Wherever we went and whoever we ended up riding with determined how the movie came together.

Lora: This winter, it seemed kind of loose, just go out and ride, see what happens. Is that how you ran it?

TR: Sometimes it was much more planned like when helicopters were involved, but for the most part, it was pretty much freestyle. We didn’t want to stress people out. If you want to come ride with us, great, no pressure. It was a self-motivation thing. We were there and had cameras there. A lot of time 10-15 people and a bunch of cameras would show up and we’d invite whoever, locals, anyone around, whoever wanted to get after it. Sweet, you can be in the movie. But for the most part it was just fun times … that’s my hippie standpoint, I guess.

Lora: Is this the first time you’ve produced a movie here, in Jackson?

Curt: This is the first time we’ve made a movie.

Lora: Are you doing it again next year?

TR: Yeah.

Curt: It was cool to see everyone come together. We would have six or seven photographers at one shoot.

TR: Yeah, because it’s become such a seize up filming lately. Like, only that photographer can come and those riders, not your other friends.

Curt: And we just opened it all back up.

TR: Sure, invite your whole f—’n family.

Lora: That’s how it seemed to work in Jackson, everyone was out there filming.

TR: That was our theme this year. OPC. Just leave it at that.

Lora: Are there any riders that you feel like really broke through in this movie?

Curt: Yeah, JJ Thomas.

TR: Definitely JJ Thomas really stepped up a bunch.

Lora: Broke through? Didn’t he win an Olympic medal?

TR: He re-broke through. Everyone knows he can ride super good in the pipe, but we got his ass out in the backcountry.

Lora: So this was his first time filming in the backcountry?

TR: No, he’s familiar with backcountry. But spending a whole bunch of time really riding it.

Curt: We’re telling a story with pictures that is legitimate. We’re traveling around the world. When your sitting there with your folks watching the average snowboard movie, it’s kind of boring. People who aren’t into snowboarding will be able to appreciate this too because it shows where we are in the world. Still we got away with our plan to keep a lot of the talking out of it, because snowboarders aren’t actors, they’re snowboarders.

Lora: Anywhere else that you went that you were stoked on?

TR: Micah Creek, a new heli operation in BC. They were rad. We spent almost three weeks there. It’s such a sick operation.

Lora: How was your season different filming for yourself, versus with Absinthe again?

TR: It was motivating to go out and do our own thing. Justin Hostynek makes rad movies, but I’ve worked with them for the last four years, which were awesome. for the slideshow